Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Jimmy Herring and Former Allman Brothers Band Members Play Butch Trucks Memorial in Macon

all photos by Kirk West

Last night, an all-star cast of musicians came together to honor the memory of late Allman Brothers Band founding drummer Butch Trucks, who passed away last month, at a private memorial ceremony at the Cox Capitol Theatre in Macon, GA. The night featured many speakers drawn from Trucks’ family and musical collaborators, plus performances from some of the drummer’s former bandmates like Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Jimmy Herring, Oteil Burbridge, Jaimoe and more, playing ABB classics in tribute to Trucks.

Trucks’ son and bandmate in The Freight Train Band, Vaylor, handled the host duties for the memorial, and other speakers included Haynes, Burbridge, photographer and archivist Kirk West, booking agent Jonny Podell, tour manager Willie Perkins, Trucks’ goddaughter Kendall Deflin, Dana Dowd, daughter of producer and engineer Tom Dowd and several Trucks family members like his wife Melinda, daughters Elise and Melody and sons Vaylor and Seth. The closing remarks were given by Trucks’ longtime ABB rhythmic foil Jaimoe.

As for the musical portion of the evening, the musicians formed a few different collaborations, kicked off with the biggest reunion of Allman Brothers members since the band’s final shows in 2014, as Haynes, Trucks, Burbridge, Jaimoe and Marc Quiñones came together with Trucks’ nephew and Widespread Panic drummer Duane and Trucks’ Les Brers bandmate Bruce Katz. The collective ran through ABB staples “Statesboro Blues” and “Ain’t Wasting Time No More.”

Next up was Les Brers, a post-ABB group of band veterans that played with Trucks in recent years. Jaimoe, Quiñones, Burbridge, Katz and Lamar Wlliams Jr. son of ABB bassist Lamar Williams, played with former ABB guitarists Jack Pearson and Jimmy Herring, presenting the Allmans’ “Dreams.” Later, Jaimoe, Quiñones and Burbridge teamed up with Susan Tedeschi, Gregg Allman Band member Peter Levin and Jimmy Hall, who played with Trucks in the supergroup Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks in the ’80s. The group delivered a poignant cover of Albert King’s “As the Years Go Passing By.” Butch’s Freight Train Band then rounded out the night of memories and music.

See photos from the event above and below, courtesy of Kirk West. Setlist, band and speaker information as reported by Allman Brothers biographer Alan Paul.

Thanks for posting that -- & to Alan Paul & all the musicians who did this for Butch so well & low-key
a month on, it still seems incomprehensible -- & love is all that remains the same

____________________"I know y'all came to hear our songs, we like to play 'em for you but without Gregg here it's really hard for us to do. He sings & plays so much & does such a good job. He's really sick, 103* He might've come, but no one would let him." Duane

just wondering if anything ever came of the A Tribute To Butch Trucks show that had been scheduled March 30 in Ardmore PA -- looked around, couldn't find anything

"The worst thing that can happen to a life is it becomes boring"
Butch, from the awesome PCHome DVD
You are loved bro

[Edited on 4/7/2017 by Stephen]

____________________"I know y'all came to hear our songs, we like to play 'em for you but without Gregg here it's really hard for us to do. He sings & plays so much & does such a good job. He's really sick, 103* He might've come, but no one would let him." Duane

____________________"I know y'all came to hear our songs, we like to play 'em for you but without Gregg here it's really hard for us to do. He sings & plays so much & does such a good job. He's really sick, 103* He might've come, but no one would let him." Duane

The ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND name, The ALLMAN BROTHERS name, likenesses, logos, mushroom design and peach truck are all registered trademarks of THE ABB MERCHANDISING CO., INC. whose rights are specifically reserved. Any artwork, visual, or audio representations used on this web site CONTAINING ANY REGISTERED TRADEMARKS are under license from The ABB MERCHANDISING CO., INC. A REVOCABLE, GRATIS LICENSE IS GRANTED TO ALL REGISTERED PEACH CORP MEMBERS FOR The DOWNLOADING OF ONE COPY FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. ANY DISTRIBUTION OR REPRODUCTION OF THE TRADEMARKS CONTAINED HEREIN ARE PROHIBITED AND ARE SPECIFICALLY RESERVED BY THE ABB MERCHANDISING CO.,INC.